Merck KGaA is consolidating its Silicon Valley business/technology and materials innovations facilities under one 30,000-square-foot roof in San Jose, California, in an effort to boost their collaborative capacity for developing materials with biological applications.
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Merck KGaA is consolidating its Silicon Valley business/technology and materials innovations facilities under one 30,000-square-foot roof in San Jose, California, in an effort to boost their collaborative capacity for developing materials with biological applications.
The facility, already home to its materials subsidiary Intermolecular Inc., will now host the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub, which Merck launched in 2017 in Menlo Park to spin out new businesses or technologies outside of the parent company’s existing business areas.
Merck scooped up Intermolecular in 2019 for $62 million, aiming to tap its electronic materials expertise to create next-generation digital devices, and rapid material screening capabilities to accelerate customer innovation. Merck is looking to build more collaborations with Bay Area companies, and Intermolecular offers services of interest to startups like building prototypes, small-scale manufacturing, and materials testing.
Intermolecular will tap the newly local expertise in an effort to reach new customers.
“Having the experts from the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub now under one roof, we are looking forward to branch out into new areas and exploring collaboration opportunities that bring benefits to our customers/startups,” said Casper van Oosten, Intermolecular’s managing director and business field head.
The subsidiary has focused on helping develop semiconductors, displays, and sensors, and has materials expertise in metal oxides, metal nitrides, ferroelectrics, chalcogenides, and alloys.
Thomas Herget, head of the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub, said the move highlights the importance of the intersection of life and materials sciences.
“Having the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub and Intermolecular under one roof now will allow us and our cooperation partners to develop and test new materials for biological applications. We are very excited about these new opportunities,” he added.
The facility offers cleanrooms, chemical labs and offices, but also collaboration and event areas.
The consolidation is the latest of several facilities upgrade for Merck, mostly for its MilliporeSigma subsidiary. Last year, MilliporeSigma expanded and upgraded its therapeutics manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, finished construction of its membrane production plant in Germany, announced an expansion of its antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, and opened a new collaboration center in China. All told, MilliporeSigma said it invested over $400 million in upgrades and expansions last year.
Merck also has Innovation Hubs in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China. The hubs have focused on liquid biopsies, biosending, interfaces, and “clean meat.”
